A new report from the American Transportation Research Institute puts a hard number behind something the transportation industry has felt for a while. The average cost to operate a truck hit $2.336 per mile in 2025, the highest figure ATRI has ever recorded, up 3.4% from the year before. Strip out fuel and the picture is worse: non-fuel costs rose 4.2%, outpacing inflation, driven by increases in nearly every line item, from maintenance and tolls to insurance and driver benefits.
Here is the part that should get every shipper’s attention. Even with freight rates finally trending upward this year, truckload operating margins are still hovering near 1%. Carriers are paying more to run every mile, and they are barely breaking even doing it.
What Rising Costs Mean for Capacity Planning
It’s easy to look at a rising rate environment and assume carriers have plenty of room to work with. The numbers tell a more nuanced story. Carriers spent 2025 managing costs carefully wherever they could, trimming non-driver staff, running equipment longer, and being more selective about which trucks stay on the road. That selectivity is part of why rates have climbed this year in the first place. The takeaway for shippers should be that not every carrier is built the same way, and the ones with tighter cost discipline and stronger relationships are the ones best positioned to keep showing up reliably.
For shippers, this changes what “getting a good rate” actually means. A quote that looks attractive today may reflect a carrier operating with very little room to absorb surprises, whether that’s a fuel spike, a maintenance issue, or a slow season. Prioritizing a proven, well established partner over the lowest number on the board is often the more dependable path to consistent capacity.
Why Partner Stability Matters More Than the Lowest Quote
This is where lane selection and partner relationships start to matter as much as the number on the rate confirmation. A transportation partner with a stable, well maintained fleet and long term carrier relationships isn’t just offering a service, it is offering continuity in a market where a meaningful share of the capacity around it is running on thin margins and even thinner patience.
At RLS, our transportation team has built long term relationships with a vetted carrier network rather than chasing the cheapest truck available on a given day. That network approach gives our customers a level of consistency that is harder to find right now, especially for temperature controlled freight, where a missed pickup or a canceled load carries real product risk. Our Cold Chain Experts work with customers to build shipping strategies around reliable, vetted capacity, not just the lowest rate because in a market like this one, the two are not always the same thing.
Trucking costs are not projected to go back down anytime soon. What shippers can control is who they are building their transportation strategy around.
ABOUT RLS LOGISTICS: Headquartered in Glassboro, NJ, RLS Logistics is a family-owned, third-party logistics provider specializing in value-added cold chain solutions, including LTL and FTL transportation, cold storage warehousing, and direct-to-consumer fulfillment. Founded in 1968, the company has been owned and managed by the Leo family for over 55 years and has grown into a leading integrated cold chain 3PL. For more information, visit https://www.rlslogistics.com/. Interested in joining one of the region’s leading temperature controlled logistics providers offering transportation, 3PL warehousing, packaging, and distribution services? Visit https://rlslogistics.com/logistics-careers.
